November 2008 Update

Baby News. Our little girl has arrived, 8 lbs, 8 ounces, 19.5 inches long. As planned, we have named her Jasmine Grace. Now Jada has a baby sister to spend time with instead of always being stuck with three older brothers. We’ll see how she adjusts and pray that she plays well and takes good care of her (at least until Jasmine is old enough and big enough to defend herself). I truly don’t care for hospital newborn photos, so we’ve included one we took ourselves. As you can see, she looks like all newborns do: cute, little, squishy, wrinkly, pink, etc. Thanks so much for your prayer for Jasmine, and for Carrie as she was carrying her for the last nine months. The pregnancy, labor, and delivery all went very smooth and we give our great God the glory for His grace and blessing in it all. (For pictures see the blog posts from October 14th and 15th)

Ministry News. I think you all know what Carrie is busy with at the moment. For those of you not sure... she’s recovering from childbirth, taking care of a newborn, trying to pay attention to Jada so she doesn’t get too jealous of the new baby, mothering the three older boys, and babying the biggest boy too! (That’s me, Jon, if you didn’t catch it). I’m pretty busy as well. With Carrie so busy with the new baby, I’m taking over much of the homeschooling. We’ve just started a new Science curriculum so it’s good timing for the transition from mom to dad as teacher. In addition to the homeschooling, I’m attempting to lend a hand around the ‘house’ (the travel trailer we’re living in right now) so that Carrie doesn’t get too overwhelmed (okay, that last statement was a little generous as Carrie is such a hard worker that it’s really not that much more work for me... but I try). I’m also preparing for teaching next semester. I’ll be teaching a class on Church History as well as teaching the Book of Daniel and one other class yet to be determined. On top of that, I’ll be starting the book of Luke at the church so I’m preparing for that as well. This is my first time teaching Church History at the Bible College and I’m really looking forward to it. Anyone who knows me a little knows how much I love history, and when you truly enjoy what you’re teaching it typically makes the class go really well. The same is true of Daniel - that I really enjoy the book - so it should be a great class as well. That being said, please continue to pray for the time of preparation and the classes themselves. We will only be in the States for a short time now that the baby is here. We need about two months to get her U.S. Passport, her Tanzanian visa, and to get her started on the basic immunizations (when you live in a place where people die every day from things that the last couple of generations in the U.S. have forgotten the names of, you really appreciate good vaccinations and immunizations). So, as we remain in Southern California for the next two months, I will also be volunteering in ministry locally. Please pray the Lord would use us for His glory while we’re here for this short stay.

Electronic Info. It’s not fancy, but I have managed to erect a basic website to compliment the already existing blog. Please take a minute to check it out at http://www.thelangleyclan.org. The best source for regular information, pictures, thoughts, funny stories, and even mini-sermons, is still the Web Log, or Blog, which you can find on the Internet here: http://thelangleyclan.blogspot.com. There’s a link to it from the website as well.

Contact Us. We’d really love to take advantage of the opportunity of being here to visit those we haven’t had a chance to visit yet. Please email or call if you’d like to arrange something. Our contact information is below. We look forward to hearing from you.

Co-laboring. There are many ways that we co-labor together with others. Several individuals, as well as a few churches, have partnered with us financially, and in that way have provided for our needs in order that we might serve the Lord and His people as we do. In addition to these co-laborers, many dear brothers and sisters in Christ have partnered in prayer, and in that way have also supported us in serving as we do. Still others have co-labored with us by providing housing and/or a vehicle to drive while in the U.S., or by meeting little needs here and there as they arise (and they always do). Others have partnered with us by speaking to their pastor and inviting us to come and share at their church. And some have done several, or even all of these things. But there is also another way to co-labor with us in this ministry, and that is side by side. This isn’t for everyone, and we’ve had some tell us plainly that they’d rather just use the money that the trip would have cost to financially support the work. But we have had several people contact us about doing a short-term trip, and we are still praying for others who will want to come out for even longer periods. If you’re interested in either, short or long term, or in co-laboring in any other way at all, please get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you and discuss the possibilities. If you’d rather remain anonymous, please contact the Far Reaching Ministries office. Their contact information is also listed below. Mungu akubariki sana!